Bateman Launches Bid For 7th And Last Term

April 19, 1994|By BARRY FLYNN Daily Press

NEWPORT NEWS — In a speech that was more a sentimental farewell than a political stem-winder, Rep. Herbert H. Bateman, R-Newport News, officially launched a bid Monday morning for a seventh and last term in Congress.

"I have decided once more - and I emphasize once more - to offer myself" for re-election, said the 65-year-old Bateman, who has said that he won't run again if elected this fall.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Friday, April 22, 1994.An article in Tuesday's Local section about Rep. Herbert H. Bateman's re-election campaign failed to include among his opponents Richard C. Lancaster, who has said he will run for the seat as an independent.

Bateman drew about 400 people to a $10-a-person fund-raising breakfast at St. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church's Sacalis Hall for the start of a campaign in which he does not expect a tough race.

The redrawing of district lines after the 1990 census has made his 1st Congressional District even more Republican than it was when Bateman first won election in 1982.

His presumed opponent is Mary F. Sinclair, a member of the York County Board of Supervisors, who was the only Democrat to file petition signatures for the congressional seat by Friday's deadline.

Without naming her, Bateman took a swipe at Sinclair, saying Democrats ought not vote for someone who can't decide whether the Navy needs a new aircraft carrier. Sinclair said last week she had not yet made up her mind about whether a new carrier would be "integral" to the national defense.

Newport News Shipbuilding, the state's biggest private employer, is facing the loss of 7,000 jobs in the next three years and would lose another 5,000 if it does not get a contract to build yet another flattop, company officials have said.

Bateman also took a shot at "liberals in Washington" trying to cut military spending, repeated his backing for a line-item veto for the president and a balanced budget amendment.